1917 — 1918

1 The note was written in connection with an inventory conducted by the VChK of cargo located in private, supply, and railway warehouses, and the subsequent distribution thereof.

2 In response to Lenin's inquiry, it was reported that: 1) cargo had been inventoried at private, supply, railway and other warehouses; 2) responsibility for guarding warehouses falls to the organizations to which they are assigned. Removal of goods from warehouses is carried out by order of the corresponding centers (textile center, soap center, etc.); 3) rationed and card-based distribution is conducted by the city food committee through cooperatives, shops and private firms; 4) confiscated products are very few in quantity.

NOTES ON THE REVOLUTIONARY DEFENSE OF PETROGRAD ¹
[25 February 1918]

Revolutionary Committee for the Defense of Petrograd

This committee
at 11—12 at night
was constituted.
25/11 around 4 o'clock in the morning
+ Bonch-Bruyevich, Mikhail
+ Yeremeev
+ Blagonarov
+ Mekhanoshín
+ Krylenko
+ Podvoyskiy
+ ?

Regiments

Grenadier
25/12
arrived around 2 o'clock at night?
(400 men full strength)

Moscow
expressed readiness
around 3 o'clock at night
+ 5,000 Putilov workers

[illegible] being loaded
+ 100
Vasileostrova
men

Latvian 6th Tukums
2nd machine-gun

Samokat Battalion
1st Corps of the Red Army
500 being loaded

Nothing came out of
Petrograd.

LENIN COLLECTION

1 In connection with the breakdown of peace negotiations at Brest-Litovsk on 16 February, the German military command officially announced the termination of the armistice, and on 18 February launched an offensive along the entire front. German troops occupied a number of cities on the territory of Soviet Russia and created a threat to Petrograd. On 21 February Petrograd was placed under martial law. On the same day, at a session of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, a decision was made to establish a Committee for the Revolutionary Defense of Petrograd consisting of 15 persons. On 25 February the Committee for Revolutionary Defense established a bureau, which included the persons (apart from Blagonarov) mentioned by V. I. Lenin in the present document.

SUMMARY OF RESPONSES ON THE QUESTION OF PEACE OR WAR,
RECEIVED BY THE SNK AND THE CEC ¹
[1918, March, no earlier than 5]

Summary of responses received by the Council of People's Commissars from local Soviets and other organizations on the question: peace or war:

for peace
for war

26. II
27. II
28. II
1. III
2. III
Total:
3, 4 and 5. III

Received by:
SNK
CEC

Responses:
for peace / for war

155 + 119 = 274
95 + 105 = 200

= 250 + 224 = 474
167 + 128 = 295
95 + 105 = 200

262 + 233 = 495

On 25 February 1918 the SNK sent inquiries to all local Soviets and land committees regarding their attitude toward the signing of peace conditions proposed by the German government. Responses from the localities were received by the SNK and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (see Lenin Collection XI, pp. 59—60). In the present document Lenin compiled the received data into a single table.

* — sum